Threads is slowly shaping up to be a decent alternative for X, formerly known as Twitter. As Meta adds features to the microblogging site, the app is slowly becoming the Twitter that everyone has come to love and gotten used to.
What's New on Threads?
Threads is taking its role as an X alternative seriously as it resembles the old Twitter more and more as it's updated. Meta is adding polls and GIFs to the app, which has been among the well-known features utilized by users on X for years.
The company has a lot of new features planned for Threads, but the two mentioned additions are rolling out now. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated the use of polls himself, creating one with three options to choose from.
Although Zukcerberg's example only showed three, users can actually add up to four options on the poll. There will also be a visible timer that informs users how long they can choose until the voting is concluded. Once that happens, all participants will receive a notification showing the results.
As for GIFs, it will be similar to how you add the media on other platforms. A new GIF icon will be available just below the typing field of a post next to options like adding images. Users will have the option to use the trending GIFs or search for the one they need, as per The Verge.
The platform is sourcing its GIFs from Giphy, which is also what Facebook and Messenger use. In addition to that, Meta plans to include view counts in Threads as well, with Instagram Head Adam Mosseri stating that they "give people a better sense of their reach."
"View counts are interesting as I think if we were shipping Instagram or Facebook, today, we would probably have them," Mosseri mentioned. Including the ability to pin replies to a post, the features are now "live for a small number of people."
The view count and pinned replies are a nice touch, especially when users want to highlight an important reply to a post or determine whether it is getting the engagement that it should. The view count has only been added to X in December 2022, by comparison.
Things are Looking Up for Threads
For a while there, the app seemed to be in trouble as the traffic on Threads drastically dropped since it hit a record-breaking 100 million sign-ups in just five days. However, recent reports show that the microblogging alternative is doing well after all.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the app has "just under" 100 million monthly active users, almost as many as its signups in the first week. The executive is even optimistic as he says there's a "good chance" of Threads reaching one billion users in the future.
as mentioned in Business Today. Zuckerberg said: "I thought for a long time, there should be a billion-person public conversations app that is a bit more positive and I think that if we keep at this for a few more years, then I think we have a good chance of achieving our vision there."
